AL Wild Card Game Preview

The time has arrived, Wild Card time is now! After 162 regular season games, it comes down to this in the American League. Odds of going to the World Series are slim for one of these two teams, as only four times in history has the AL Wild Card team. The first two teams to do it, the 2002 Anaheim Angeles and 2004 Boston Red Sox, have gone on to win the title, while the other two occasions, the 2006 Detroit Tigers and 2014 Kansas City Royals, both lost in the fall classic.

First pitch is scheduled for 8PM on TBS, and the game takes place at Rogers Center in Toronto. Starting pitchers for this game will be Chris Tillman (16-6, 3.77 ERA, 140 SO) going against Marcus Stroman (9-10, 4.37 ERA, 166 SO). Both teams finished with the exact same 89-73 record, but Toronto got home field advantage by taking the season series by a 10-9 advantage. Winner of this game will advance to the Divisional Round to take on the Texas Rangers

This should be a very enojyable baseball game between two divisional rivals, both who had aspirations of winning the division, but came up short of an AL East crown. If your Baltimore, you've gotta be feeling comfortable going into the wild card game. They finished the season going 17-12 over the final month of the season, including 10-5 on their final 15 road games. Baltimore really has the power bats that can match with anybody in baseball. Three hitters in the Baltimore lineup, Manny Machado (37 HR), Kris Davis (38 HR) and Mark Trumbo (47 HR) all slugged over 30 dingers during the year. Oh yeah, Adam Jones (29 HR), Jonathan Scoop (25 HR) and Pedro Alvarez (22 HR) each added another 20+ homers each.

While Baltimore had their bats going at the end of the month, Toronto slumped a bit towards the end. The Jays had the lead in the division when September started, but it didn't end that way, closing out the final month of the season going 13-16 over the final 29 of the games of the year. Toronto, much like Baltimore, relies on power. Edwin Encarnacion lead the way for the Jays, with 42 homers and 127 RBI. Behind him is Josh Donaldoson with 37 homers and came one RBI short of hitting the century mark. Then there's Jose Bautista and his 22 homers and 69 RBI, but he missed playing time this year with injuries. Michael Saunders and Troy Tulowitzki each contributed 24 homers. When it comes to offense it's going to be power against power in this ballgame.

Pitching is going to be big in this one. While yes Marcus Stroman has had a solid year, Chris Tillman has had the better one. So the O's have the advantage there. They also have it in the bull pen as well. Sure, Roberto Osuna has been good for the Jays, he has converted 37 saves in 41 chances. Baltimore's pen has been better though. Once you get to the late innings with a lead, its a lock for Baltimore that its over. Zach Britton has a 0.54 ERA and is 47 for 47 in save chances. As good has Toronto has been all year, Baltimore has played better baseball as of late, coming on hot to end the year. Will be a close baseball game but at the end of the day, the team south of the boarder comes away with the win.

Winner: Baltimore Orioles!